Material Safety Data Sheets for ammonium nitrate show that it “…May explode or detonate under confinement and high temperatures…” and that it “…explodes more readily if contaminated with organic materials or other fuels.”

The material safety data sheets have special firefighting procedures, saying firefighters should abandon their efforts for any large fire or fire engulfing confining containers, and quickly evacuate all personnel to a distance 2500 feet away.

The Sullivans estimate they live just a thousand feet away from the plant and say before the blast they were not told to evacuate.

While investigators have lots of questions, experts we spoke with question the guidelines for storing ammonium nitrate.

The National Fire Protection Association code only requires an automatic sprinkler system when there are more than 2,500 tons of the chemical being stored.

The most ever stored at West was 270 tons, so a sprinkler would not have been required.

According to Muska, the fire department did do on-site inspections at the fertilizer plant, but he was not aware of any fire training exercises at the facility.

Jack covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003.
This year, he has interviewed Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republicans Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott.
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